Rural-mail-delivery device.



JENSON. RURAL-MAIL DELIVERY DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED APR.7, 1910.

1", 019," 7 95. Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

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AUGUST JENSON, OF KENYON, MINNESOTA, AS ISIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE AS-SIGNMENTS, TO KENYON ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF KENYON,

MINNESOTA, A CORPORATION OF MINNESOTA.

BURAL-MAIL-DELIVERY DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

Application filed April 7, 1910. Serial No. 554,007.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST JENsoN, a

citizen of the United St.a1lS.,; residing at Kenyon, in the county ofGoodhue anidistate of Minnesota, have inventedcertaiir new. and

useful Improvements in Rural .Mail-iDeliv-g districts to carry mail fromtheroad to a cry Devices house located at a considerable or very longdistance from the road. Hitherto devices of this kind have been providedbut, so far as I am aware, the mail box has been propelled along itssupporting track by a cable, usually driven by hand through cooperatingfriction wheels. In my improved device, the mail box and its supportingwheels or truck are propelled along the track by means of a smallelectric motor, carried by the truck or box.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred form of theimproved mail delivery device, like characters indicate like partsthroughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a View in side elevation, withparts broken away, illustrating the improved mail delivery device andshowing the box and its supporting truck in the vicinity of the outer orroad extremity of the track; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown inFig. 1; Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, showing a portion of the mail boxand the motor reversing switch and the associated device applied to thebox; Fig. 4C is a plan View of the parts shown in Fig. 3, some partsbeing broken away; Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken approximately onthe line :0 00 of Fig. 3, some parts being .shown in full; Fig. 6 is adetail in section on the line 00 m of Fig. 1; and Fig. 7 is a view inelevation, illustrating a somewhat modified form of the truck drivingconnection.

In this improved mail delivery device, I preferably employ a pair oftrack wires or cables, located one above the other. The lower members ofthese track wires are indicated by the numeral 1 and the upper membersof said wires are indicated by the numeral 2. At their outer ends, thetrack wires 1 and 2 are attached to an anchoring frame or upright, shownas afforded by a pair of heavy laterally spaced posts 3, shown asrigidlyconneoted, at their intermediate portions, by angle iron tie barsA and 5 and, at their upper extremities, by a single iron tie bar 6. Theupper track'wire 2 is shown as passed directly through the dependingflange of the tie bar 6, and adjustably anchored thereto by a nut 7working on the threaded end of said track wire. The lower track wire 1extends considerably beyond the posts 3, is passed over a guide sheave8, and its upwardly and backwardly turned end is adjustably connected tothe tie bar 6 by a nut-equipped tightening bolt 9. The sheave 8 isjournaled to the projecting ends of a pair of laterally spaced brackets10, secured one to each of the posts 3. At their other ends, the trackwires 1 and 2 are anchored or secured to the house in any suitable way,not shown. Both the said wires 1 and 2 are normally charged, so thatthey serve as trolley wires as well as tracks; and, as diagrammaticallyshown in Fig. 1, a battery or other source of electrical energy 11 isconnected by wires 12 and 13 respectively to the said wires 1 and 2. Aswitch 14: is shown as interposed in the local wire 13 and is supposedto be located at the house end of the line. The short circuit betweenthe outer ends of the wires 1 and 2, which would otherwise be producedthrough the tie bar 6, may be prevented by insulating the wire 2 and thenut 7 from the said bar, or this short circuit may be prevented, ifdesired, by connecting the two ends of the wires 1 and 2 to differenttransverse tie bars independently secured to the wooden posts 3.

The mail box 15 is preferably in the form of a sheet metal shell, whichconstitutes a part of the structure, and is prov ded on top with a wheelbracket 16 that is open at one side, is connected to the said box by avertical swivel 17, and is provided with a grooved truck wheel 18 thatruns on the lower track bar 1. The mail box 15 is horizontally disposedand, at its inner end, is provided with projecting upper and lower arms19 and 20. The projecting ends of these arms 19 and 20 are connected byvertically alined pivots 21 to the upper and lower portions of amotorsupporting frame 22, within which a small electric motor 23 ismounted. The shaft of the motor 23 projects at one side and is providedwith a sprocket 24 (see Fig. 2).

A wheel bracket 25 is rigidly secured to, and projects above, themotor-supporting frame 22 and is provided with a grooved traction wheel26 that runs upon the lower track bar 1. A sprocket chain 27 runs overthe sprocket 24 of the motor shaft and over a sprocket 28 secured to oneside of the traction wheel 26.

A tubular stem 29 is rigidly secured to, and extends upward from the topof the wheel bracket 25 and is insulated therefrom at 30, as best shownin Fig. 6. A stem 31 works telescopically in the tubular stem 29 and isheld against rotation by a pin 32, that projects therefrom and works ina vertical slot 33 in the said stem 29. A supplemental truck supportingwheel 34 is journaled to the upper end or head of the stem 31 and runsupon the upper track wire 2. A coiled spring 35 surrounds the stem 29and is attached to the lower portion of the stem 29 and to the head ofthe stem 31. This spring 35 holds the wheel 34 tightly engaged with theupper track wire 2, but is not, of course, of suflicientstrength to liftthe wheel 26 from the lower track wire 1 or to diminish, to any greatextent, the tractive friction between said wheel 26 and wire 1. Thewheels 26 and 34 both act as trolley wheels, and the wires 1 and 2 servealso as trolley wires and are live wires whenever the switch 14 isclosed. The stem 29 is, therefore, in electrical connection with theupper track wire 2 while the wheel bracket 25 is in electricalconnection with the lower track wire 1. The said stem 29 is connected tothe field of the motor 23 by a wire 36 and the wheel bracket 25 isconnected to the field of the said motor by a wire 37.

Secured on one side of the mail box 15, is a motor reversing switch, asshown, comprising a switchboard 38 of insulating material provided withfour contacts 39, 40, 41 and 42. The outside contacts 39 and 42 areconnected by a wire 43 to the field of the motor 23 and the insidecontacts 40 and 41 are connected by another wire 44 to another terminalof the said motor field.

Pivotally connected to the switchboard 38, at their lower ends, is apairof contact levers 45 and 46, that cotiperate with the fixed contacts 39to 42 and are connected for common oscillatory movements by aninsulating link 47. The upper end of the contact lever 46 is-extendedabove the switchboard 38 and is provided with vertically spaced,laterally both of which are insulated from the said lever. Workingbetween the studs 48 and 49 projecting headed studs 48 and49,

and resting upon the former, is a pair of long reversely acting pushbars 50 and 51, provided respectively with shoulders 52 and 53. The pushbar 51 is pivoted to the upper end of a bell crank 54 that is pivoted tothe side of the box 15, and the lower arm of which is provided with acam acting hooked end 55. A light coiled spring 56, shown as attached tothe bar 51 and to the switchboard 38, yieldingly draws the formerdownward onto the stud 52 or onto a stop 57, shown as secured on theside of the box 15. Secured on the side of the box 15, immediately abovea stud 49, when the lever 46 is'jin an intermediate position, is alihi'iting st the purpose of which will p "ie' sen'tly la ppean.Dependng from the botttim' bfthe-box-is a stop pin or lug 61, the parpose efiav'hfeli will also presently appear. The upper a -f the bellcrank normally enea a cam plate 62 secured to the -l e box 15 andengageable with the flu) end of the push bar 50 under conditionshereinafter noted. The push bar works longitudinally through a keeper 63on the side of the box 15 and is pivotally attached to a door 64, whichis hinged, at its lower edge, to the outer end of the box 15 andnormally closes the said box.

The posts 3 are shown as provided with horizontally extended laterallyspaced guide strips 65, that coperate with guide bars 66 secured to thesides of the box 15. To one of the posts is rigidly secured a bracket67, to the projecting end of which is pivoted a trip lever 68. This triplever 68 stands at one side of the box 15 and is adapted to engage withthe stud 49 of the lever 46 and with the limiting stud 60 of the box. Alight coiled spring 69 yieldingly holds the lever 68 in the positionshown in Fig. l. The said lever is provided with a pivoted lowerextremity which is adapted to fold when pressed in a direction away fromthe posts 3, but operates as a rigid part of the lever when pressedtoward the posts.

Rigidly secured to the tie bars 4 and 5 of the posts 3, is a cross headguide 7 0, upon which is mounted a cross head 71. This cross head 71 hasan upwardly extended stop lug 72, that is adapted to be engaged by thedepending lug 61 of the box.15. A coiled spring 73, attached to thecross head and to the bar 4, yieldingly holds the said cross head in theposition shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Rigidly secured to the tie bar 4 andpositioned to be engaged by the hooked end 55 of the bell crank lug 74.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 7, a traction wheel 75 isarranged to run on the upper wire and is journaled in the upper portionof a motor supporting frame 76. The motor 77, which is carried by saidframe 76, has an armature shaft 78 provided with 54, is a beveled lock abeveled pinion 79 that meshes with a beveled gear 80 secured to saidwheel 7 5. A lower wheel 81 is mounted in the pronged end of a stem 82that works telescopically within a tubular stem 83 secured to the frame76 but insulated therefrom at 84.

WVhen the motor reversing switch 45-46 is set in an intermediateposition shown in Fig. 8, the motor circuit will be broken and the motorwill, of course, remain idle. When the said reversing switch is moved toits extreme position toward the right, and the switch 14 is then closed,the motor circuit will be closed in a direction to cause the motor todrive the mail box in a direc tion from the house toward the road, or ina direction from left toward the right in respect to Fig. 1. On theotherhand, when the said reversing switch is set in its extreme positiontoward the left, its levers 45 and 46 will engage, respectively, withthe switch board contacts 41 and 42 (best shown in Fig. 8) and the motorwill then be driven in a direction to cause the mail box to travel from,the road toward the house or in a direction from the right toward theleft, in respect to Fig. 1. When the mail box traveling from the housetoward the road reaches nearly the limit of its outward movement, thedepending end of the trip lever 68 will engage the upper stud 49 of theswitch lever 46 and will move the motor reversing switch into itsneutral intermediate position, at the completion of which movement thestud 60 will strike the said lever 68 and thereby force the saidleverout of engagement with the stud 49. It may be here stated that thesaid stud 60 will pass under and to the right of the lever 68 and that,under return movement of the mail box, the pivoted lower end of the saidlever will fold up and permit the free return movement of the said stud60. Immediately after the trip arm 68 has thus acted to set the motorreversing switch in its neutral position, the stop pin 61 on the bottomof the mail box 15 engages the stop flange 72 of the cross head 71,thereby forcing the said cross head outward or toward the right, againstthe tension of the spring 73, far enough to permit the hooked end 55 ofthe bell crank lock lever 54 to engage the lock lug 74 and thereby lockthe mail box at the limit of its outer movement, and with the spring 7 3set under increased tension, will presently be noted. If the mail boxdoor 64 should be opened and again closed while the motor reversingswitch is in its extreme position toward the right, the push bar 50 willhave no action whatever on the said reversing switch. If, however, thesaid door be opened by the mail carrier in removing mail from the box orin depositing mail therein, after the said motor reversing switch hasbeen set in its neutral position, as

for an important purpose which above just stated, the shoulder 52 of thepush bar 50 will engage the lower stud 48 of the switch lever 46. Then,when the said box door is closed, the push bar 50 will force the switch4546 into its extreme position toward the lever, at the limit of whichmovement the free end of the bar 50 will engage with the cam plate 62and force the shoulder 52 above the said stud 48, thus leaving the saidpush bar 50 supported in an inoperative position, as shown in Fig. 1.The above noted movement of the push bar 50 and the closing movement ofthe door 64 cause the lower stud 48 to engage the shoulder 53 of thepush bar 51 and thereby, for a short interval, raising the hooked end 55of the lock lever 54 out of engagement with the lock lug 74; and thisrelease is sufficient to permit the spring 7 3 to move the mail boxtoward the left in respect to Fig. 1, far enough to carry the saidhooked end 55 to the left of the said lock lug 74. Usually, the switch14 will be opened immediately after the mail box reaches its outermostposition, so that the motor circuit will not be immediately closed whenthe switch 4546 is moved from its neutral position into a reverseposition toward the left, by the open ing and closing of the mail box.If the said switch 14 happens to be closed when the motor reversingswitch is moved to its extreme position toward the left, the motor willbe thrown into action and immediately cause the mail box to start itsreturn movement from the road to the house. Usually, however, saidswitch 14 will be closed to start the return movement of the mail box atsome time subsequent to the above noted manipulation of the door 64.

Any suitable means may be provided at the house end of the line forautomatically moving the motor reversing switch from its extremeposition toward the left into its neutral intermediate position, or thismay be done by hand after the box truck has been stopped by a breakingof the circuit caused by opening the switch 14. Preferably, the motorreversing switch will be set in its extreme position toward the rightwhile the switch 14 is open, and then the box may be started on itsouter trip whenever desired simply by closing the switch 14.

The efficiency of the device above described has been demonstrated inactual practice. Practically no manual work is required in the operationof the device. The driving power is entirely electrical and the onlyhand operations required are those required to operate the switches andthe mail box door.

The device has herein been described as a mail delivery device and suchis the chief intended function thereof, but it may, nevertheless, beused to deliver various other articles such as parcels from a store. It

will, therefore, be understood that the invention is not limited to amail delivery device.

What I claim is:

1. In a mail delivery device, the combination with a track, of a truckincluding a mail box and wheels arranged to run on said track, said boxhaving a hinged door, of an electrical motor carried by said truck andconnected to one of the truck wheels for driving the same, a motorreversing switch carried by said truck, a device at one end of the linefor setting said reversing switch in a neutral position, and aconnection operated by the said mail box door for setting said switch inposition to reverse the action of said motor.

2. In a mail delivery device, the combination with a track, of a truckmounted to travel thereon and having an engaging part, a motor 011 saidtruck for driving the same, a motor reversing device on said truck, alock piece on said truck, a lock lug and a yielding stop at one end ofthe said track, the latter of which when engaged and moved by the partcarried by said truck will permit engagement of the lock on said truckwith said fixed lock lug, and a device at the same end of said trackoperative on said motor reversing device.

3. In a mail delivery device, the combination with upper and lowertracks, of a mail box provided with a pivoted motor supporting frame anda motor therein, truck wheels connected to said motor supporting frameand working one on each of said tracks, a third truck wheel connected tosaid mail box and working on one of said tracks, the said motor beingconnected to one of said truck wheels for driving the same, and meansfor reversing the action of said motor.

4. In a mail delivery device, the combination with a track, of a mailbox having wheels adapted to travel on said track, a motor carried withsaid box and having connections for driving one of said wheels,

a motor reversing device on said box, a device at one end of the lineoperative on said motor reversing device to set the same in a neutralposition, said mail box having a hinged door, a push bar connected tosaid door and operative to reverse the action of said motor reversingdevice when said door is opened and then closed while said motorreversing device is in a neutral position.

5. The combination with a track, of a mail box having an engaging partand having truck wheels arranged to run on said track, a motor carriedwith said box and connected to one of said truck wheels, said box havinga hinged door, a motor reversing device carried by said box, a yieldinglock also carried by said box, a push bar connected to said door andoperative to reverse the action of said motor reversing device when saiddoor is opened and closed while said motor reversing device is in aneutral position, and three devices at one end of the track, the firstserving to set said motor reversing device in a neutral position, thesecond being a fixed lug for engagement with the lock device on said boxand the third being a spring retracted stop engageable with the partcarried by the box and serving when said lock device is released fromsaid lug to impart a slight initial return movement to said box.

6. The combination with a track of a truck mounted to travel thereon, atruck driving motor carried by said truck, a fixed lock lug and anindependent spring retracted stop at one end of the line, and a yieldinglock device carried by said truck, engageable with said lock lug whensaid yielding stop is forced from its normal position by engagementtherewith of a part carried by said truck;

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST JENSON. Witnesses ALICE V. SwANsoN, HARRY KILGORE.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G.

